


Glass Houses

by MercuryMapleKey



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 15:32:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercuryMapleKey/pseuds/MercuryMapleKey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short ficlets for a university au that ties directly in with ribbonelle's university/coffeeshop au but can be read separately too. More will surely show up as I write them out of frustration with my own university.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ribbonelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ribbonelle/gifts).



> Most of the little ficlets I post in here are just different things I've written for ribbonelle, cause she's rad. If you haven't go check her out here on Ao3 or over on Tumblr. 
> 
> Oh Starscream has a little power fantasy involving killing people to get out of schoolwork at the beginning of this one. It's not graphic or anything, it's ridiculous, but I just figured I'd give a heads up. The prick in crimonology is Prowl.

He was going to kill someone. That's it. He was just going to kill someone. By the end of the day there was going to be at least one new homicide case for that prick in criminology to look into. If he even survived that was -- the massacre Starscream was daydreaming was of epic preportions. Scribbling angry circles into his datapad, he imagined just how it'd go. First of all, the lighting would be perfect. A two... maybe three o' clock sun, cloudless obviously, and streaming in from above the treeline; a perfect frame for his divine justice. He'd shoot them down like lemmings, he'd make them all kneel before him, and then, when they were done begging for their vapid, nondescript lives, he'd kill them anyways. His frame, lit like a god, the last sight they'd ever have bestowed upon them. That would show them.

Of course knowing how sparkless the Academy was it would probably only _defer_ the exam than exterminate it completely. Not to mention the jail time could severely limit the usefulness of his degree once he got out again. It wasn't even the right time of day; the lighting in the library was atrocious at night.

This was hardly the first time Starscream had considered murder in response to a due date, but even with the obvious consequences he found himself weighing his options as he hid equations and definitions behind black scribbles.

Maybe arson would be a better choice.

Luckily for the reputation of the university it was about then Skyfire eclipsed Starscream's plans with his enormous shadow.

"Starscream? What are you doing here?"

Starscream dropped his stylus but he didn't bother to life his helm. "Planning a felony."

"I thought you were going out with Skywarp and Thundercracker tonight."

 _Usually_ he did. _Usually_ he could afford to. Today all Skyfire received was a scathing glare. "Well I'm _not_ tonight. I have to spend the rest of my life studying for this stupid, stupid exam!" The last of his rant was emphasized with a slam of his servo against his datapad which send library goers left and right glancing at what was the beginnings of a scene.

Wordlessly Skyfire dropped into the seat across and covered one blue servo with his white ones. If Starscream was actually studying at the _library_ it must have been important. Typically he didn't crack open the books until the night before a test, if at all, and only when he had about three other things he should have been doing instead. Starscream had sustained more all-nighters than anyone else Skyfire had ever met in his entire university career, and the fact that he managed to maintained such a consistently high average despite his _terrible_ habits was... a testament to his talents actually.

"When is the test, Star?"

"Tomorrow. In the _morning!_ Who gives a 60% exam first thing in the morning? That should be a punishable offense!" Punishable by death actually. In the presence of Skyfire it wasn't impossible for Starscream to keep himself from shouting outright, but there was no preventing the screech of his voice. Whatever. Anyone who had a problem with it could go and shove their concerns up their own exhaust ports for all Starscream cared about them.

Skyfire has a less aggressive approach, lifting Starscream's servo to swivel the datapad in his direction. Carbon chains, hydroxyls, "Oh. This is organic biology isn't it?"

"Yes." Came the moody reply. Starscream was practically sulking and a flutter of his wings foreshadowed his next outburst. "I don't understand why this is a requirement. I'm never going to _choose_ to work with a bunch of filthy organics-- no one ever would! It's pointless!"

There were at least a thousand reasons as to why knowing ones organic biology was a good idea and Skyfire knew them all, but he wasn't about to indulge Starscream in that information right now. Not when he had an exam to study for at least.

Starscream hadn't stopped fuming yet. "And now because the professor is a fragging idiot and doesn't know how to teach, I'm going to suffer on my exam which is at the stupidest time of day imaginable! That's it, I'm just killing them--"

Catching rapidly flailing servos again, Skyfire soothed up an arm and brought Starscream's attention back to him. "Starscream, you're not going to suffer. I passed this class two years ago." He pet lightly along the patch of blue on Starscream's arm and the seeker really was sulking now, dark lips jutted out in a pout that was probably supposed to be challenging. "You should have come to me earlier if you were having trouble."

"I _wasn't_ having trouble!" The pout was replaced with a flash of white denta as Starscream went for the snarl next. "Look just teach it to me now, alright?"

"The entire class in one night?" It wasn't as if he couldn't afford to, Skyfire looked through Starscream's notes -- surprisingly well put together for someone who claimed to know nothing -- and smiled; he liked teaching, especially for Starscream who never seemed to need the vocabulary explained to him. He could make himself a top student at the Academy if he only bothered to put the effort in.

Starscream's reply was a scowl. Shifting in his chair he pressed against the armrests to fold his pedes underneath him. "You're already here, aren't you? What are you doing here anyways? You followed me, didn't you?" Skyfire was a TA in the same department Starscream was studying in, and always seemed to stop for energon before the same morning block of classes. The seeker was convinced he'd been stalking him for a good month and a half before they had finally started going out, for some reason he took pride in it.

Today Skyfire wasn't giving it to him. "I'm always here at this time to grade assignments."

"Sure. You have no life." Starscream licked his smirking lips and Skyfire redirected him back to the datapad resolutely.

"Well that's lucky for you, isn't it?"


	2. Chapter 2

Fourth year had been a good year for Skyfire, second year has been a nightmare, third year had been an experience, but fourth year was the one where things had just started falling into place. School, career, connections, even Starscream. It had taken a full year of Skyfire didn’t know _what_ , but he’d finally figured Starscream out, and with it figured out what the seeker had wanted from him as well.

               It was almost silly that it had taken so long in retrospect, but Starscream had a habit of being… confusing. Contradictory. Spontaneous. He said one thing while doing another and changed his mind and mood more frequently than he changed his major. They’d been dating – steadily now – since the start of the school year but there was always at least one more thing Skyfire still didn’t understand about the seeker.

               Like why he never wanted to watch the movies he actually liked.

               Starscream liked romances. If that was supposed to be a secret it wasn’t kept very well, the bookshelf in his room was crammed with them in both novel and video format. But he never elected to watch anything from his own collection, instead stealing movies off of Thundercracker and Skywarp and studiously ignoring the trailers for the newest sappy blockbusters at the theatres in favour of almost anything else. It wasn’t really a problem, Skyfire was open to almost anything as long as it wasn’t needlessly gruesome (which cut about a third of anything Skywarp had to offer off the list right there). He didn’t pay attention to whatever was on that well anyways, especially with Starscream against him, or draped overtop of him, or even behind him as the seeker lazily pet the finials on his helm. No, it wasn’t a problem in any sense of the word, but it was weird.

               Skyfire resolved to get to the bottom of it. For science.

 

               “Since _you_ never care anyways I’ll go get something to watch while we study.” Starscream liked to claim that having something he’d already seen on in the background helped him focus. It was about as truthful as his previous claims that he hadn’t shoplifted the gift he’d unexpectedly gotten Skyfire nearly a month ago. Starscream was lying draped on his stomach across one of Skyfire’s legs and digging through a box of rust sticks he’d bought; he had no plans for studying anything.

               That was fine today however, Skyfire had a mission. Before Starscream had the chance Skyfire leaned to the side and plucked one of the newer titles from Star’s movie collection. The seeker’s wings jolted an inch in surprise as he watched him, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

               “Actually can we watch this?” Skyfire had done his homework on this. “I haven’t seen it but I heart it got good reviews.” It had. People hadn’t been able to stop talking about this one for months and it already had a sequel in the works apparently. Skyfire had no idea what it was about though and the look Starscream gave him made him second guess his choice.

               “Why do _you_ actually care? You never even watch it.” Red optics flicked between the bookshelf and the blank television screen tensely. What was the big secret?

               “That’s because I never get to pick.” Skyfire put a reassuring servo on Star’s back that was almost, but not quite, flicked off with his wing.

               “ _That’s_ because you never care!” It was almost incredible how quickly he could rise in volume. Starscream rummaged through his box of treats until he found another. “Why do you care now? What are you planning?”

               Skyfire sighed. He wasn’t frustrated, just resigned. “Why do you never want to watch your own moveis?”

               “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Starscream popped one end of the rust stick in his mouth.

               Oh. Sure. That was likely. “Come on, Star.” The shuttle’s voice was calm and reasoning, like it always was when he knew he was lying. Starscream grumbled around his treat.

               Skyfire cocked his helm and told him he hadn’t heard and now Starscream was outright growling.

               “I said: Because they’re mine!”

               The lapse that passed between the two of them must have spanned about 5 nanokliks before Skyfire lifted his servo from Starscream’s plating only to drop it back onto him in the rough equivalent of a shrug. “I’m sorry, I don’t get it.”

               Starscream twisted around to fix him with a look ant then sat up proper so he could further it without straining a strut. The answer was obvious of course. “They’re mine. They’re all mine, I _bought_ those.” He snatched the movie back out of Skyfire’s servo. “I’m not sharing them with anyone.

               What… a weird thing to be greedy about. Starscream clambered across his legs to put the movie back where it belonged and Skyfire nodded. “Sure. Alright. Can I have a rust stick, Star?”

               Two out of the sticks Starscream had bought with his own money were held up to his face.

“Here.”


End file.
